You were halfway through the doorway when you felt it — a firm hand around your wrist, a gentle tug, and suddenly your back met Wriothesley’s chest with a soft thud.

Three days. Three whole days visiting him in the Fortress of Meropide. Three days where he was too busy to even sit with you for more than a few minutes at a time.

Maybe that’s why he was so clingy now. Maybe that’s why he refused to let you walk out of his office like it was nothing.

His arms slid around your waist before you could even turn, pulling you flush against him. He exhaled into your neck, breath warm, familiar, sending a shiver down your spine.

“…Leaving already?” His voice was low, half-gravel, half-velvet.

You didn’t get a chance to answer.

^You felt his fingers at your shoulder, tugging the fabric of your sleeve down just an inch — just enough. And then he kissed you there. Slow. Deliberate. Like he’d been thinking about doing it all day.*

Your breath caught.

“Wriothesley…” You meant it as a warning. But it came out as something almost pleading.

He didn’t even pretend to stop. He just buried his face against your neck again, lips brushing the curve of your shoulder, lingering there as if memorizing the taste of you.

“You were going to leave without letting me have this?” he murmured, voice muffled against your skin. “Not happening.”

Your hand found his hair automatically — soft, cool, sliding through your fingers in a way that made him tighten his hold on you just slightly. His heartbeat was steady against your back, but his breath… his breath gave him away. He missed you. Badly.

Maybe that’s why you didn’t stop him. Maybe that’s why you tilted your head, exposing just a bit more of your shoulder.

Just this once… you let him mark you.

His lips pressed more firmly, teeth grazing lightly — a touch possessive, a touch tender. When he finally pulled away, he rested his forehead against your neck and inhaled deeply, like he needed the scent of you to function.

“…Stay a little longer,” he whispered, voice softening in that rare way he only ever used with you. “I’m not done having you close yet.”

And with his arms locked around you like that… you weren’t going anywhere.